George and Barnes are YouTube performers with about a thousand views. Joe is a socially awkward new fan – and also a serial killer. After “breaking up” with a guy named Andy, Joe tracks down George and the two immediately start dating. But the more they fall for each other, George’s friends become MIA for various reasons.

Boys for Sale (売買ボーイズ) interviews several current and past sex workers about how they got into the sex industry, why they chose this work, their experiences as such and their life plans for once they move on from it – or, if they’re no longer working as such, what they’ve done since. The reasons are surprising and the stories are compelling – though at times, some are also bit sad and others even heartbreaking.

After 17 years, Del Shores returns to the sordid lives of Latrelle, LaVonda, Aunt Sissy and Brother Boy with A Very Sordid Wedding – which was triggered by a simple question from a fan about what happened to these characters after the 2000 original. “It was a bit challenging to figure out how to go back to these characters and make the story fresh,” the engaging Shores recalls in a lively phone interview with Gay Essential about the sequel to his classic film.

The perfectly cast Seana Kerslake takes an occasionally unappealing character and makes us want to give her the same recurrent chances as the other characters in the film. And there are some delightfully unexpected moments – largely stemming from Mary’s penchant for jeopardizing or even ruining whatever good things come her way.

The Pearl of Africa is very topical in presenting this personal story of the life of a transgendered individual at a time when they’re continuing to gain visibility all over the world and demanding a spot at society’s proverbial table.

“The Fabulous Allan Carr tells Allan’s story,” Jeffrey Schwarz explains. “But it’s also a social history of gay life from the 50s when little gay boys would channel their obsessions through movies and would worship glamorous movie queens through the 70s when people started coming out of the closet through the 80s when AIDS came along and ruined the party for everyone. That’s sort of the backdrop of Allan’s story.”

Katherine Fairfax Wright didn’t know who Todrick Hall was. So when a friend at Awesomeness Films called her about directing a documentary about him, she was initially hesitant until she looked him up and checked out his wildly popular YouTube channel.

Most of the members of Check It are estranged from their families or have otherwise disadvantageous home lives. A lot of them are homeless and many of them turn to prostitution in order to pay rent, eat or just survive. But what else are they supposed to do? When they get kicked out of their homes as young teenagers simply for being different and/or kicked out of school at an even younger age because of perceived behavioral problems, what other recourse do these undereducated black LGBT teenagers have?

Though a filmmaker, Bobbi Jo Hart ’s degree is actually in International Relations, so she sees filmmaking as her way of exploring humanity and bringing people closer – which is one of her aims with this documentary. “Given all the divisiveness in the world and the political climate in the States, we need reminders to celebrate our similarities and honor our differences. The Trocks represent that.”

April DeBoer and Jayne Rouse live in Michigan. Between them, they have FIVE adopted children. They couldn’t legally adopt all five jointly because the laws of the state prohibit unmarried couples from adopting. But being a lesbian couple, they couldn’t get married anyway because same-sex marriage wasn’t legal in their state. This leaves their family very vulnerable to being split up should something happen to one or both of them.

Daniel, Santiago and Adrian are three longtime friends who take a camping trip together in Bromance (Como Un Novio Sin Sexo), an Argentinean film released in 2016 that takes place in 1996. Directed by Lucas Santa Ana, the film stars Javier De Pietro, Marco Ribas and Agustin Pardella.

Ekaj is a gritty 2015 film about a young runaway who escapes a disadvantageous situation at home — for a disadvantageous situation on the streets of New York. Ekaj is a skinny, strikingly pretty young man with soft features who doesn’t necessarily dress as a female but is often mistaken for one and therefore presents himself more femininely than not.